Do You Roll Like A Baby?

April 20, 2013

I had a meeting today with my financial adviser who is 33 years-old and keeps fit with regular training like Crossfit and biking.  He told me that he was having back and shoulder pain since buying a new Tempurpedic mattress about three weeks ago.  He wanted to know my opinion about the mattress, so I told him flat out that I do not like them.  Sure they are nice and fluffy and conform to your bodies’ weight distribution which is all great until you have to change position.   This is where the problems start and it is because many people have forgotten how to roll properly.

All infants with normal motor development learn how to roll exactly the same way.  I am going with Nature on this one.   I explained to him that unless you have the strength and flexibility like you did when you were and infant, rolling like a log could be a challenge.  Thankfully for most you just need to relearn how to roll, simple enough.  The reality is many adults have lost their flexibility and strength balance and they are forced to use a poor movement strategy and that’s probably why they get hurt.

Once I explained to him that he was probably not coordinating his body properly like he did when he was an infant where the shoulders and hips move together as one unit (log roll), it made sense to him.  Hey I am not going to fight Nature on this one and since all infants with normal motor skills use the log rolling method why deviate.

As a spine and sports specialist for most of my 18 year physical therapy career I can tell you that most patients who have injured their low backs have lost this innate skill.   So the next time you roll over in bed make sure you move your shoulder and hips together as one unit.  You can practice this by lying flat on your back and rolling to the left 10 times and repeat to the right.

To emulate the way an infant rolls over (rolling to the left); start on your back and reach your left arm as if you were going to grab onto a bed rail while simultaneously  pulling your left  knee towards your chest (stop at 90 degrees of bend like when you are in a chair).  Repeat 10 times then do the same to the right.  This is one of Nature’s best core exercises.  Once you re-learn how to roll any mattress choice would be fine.

 

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